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Spotify has introduced a new CarPlay interface in the latest beta version of the app that is now available via TestFlight.

spotify-carplay-queue-app.jpeg
Image credit: Shaun Ruigrok

Notably, the redesigned UI adds a new queue system that brings the Spotify CarPlay experience a lot closer to the way Apple Music works.

Users can now see which tracks are queued up without having to look at their iPhone, thanks to a "Go to queue" button on the Now Playing screen. Users can now also navigate to an artist's Spotify page by tapping the artist's name.

Elsewhere, the CarPlay app includes four tabs at the top of the screen for quick access to Home, Recently Played, Browse, and Library, while more album artwork and new accents add a lick of color to the interface.

It's not known when the updated version will arrive in the App Store, but its presence in TestFlight is a good indicator that it should be on the way soon.

In November, Spotify rolled out support for standalone streaming through the Spotify app for Apple Watch, allowing users to listen to music or podcasts from Spotify over WiFi or cellular without having to have an iPhone nearby.

Article Link: Spotify Starts Testing New CarPlay Interface With Queue System
 
Suck it Spotify. Pay for premium and get ads. But because it’s a podcast all is fine and it’s embedded in the podcast so the end.
 
I wish YouTube Music would add this feature. Their CarPlay app is horrendous.
 
A hint about what the next move should be: HoooomeeeeePoooood, siiiiiiriiii .... Spotify is taking, at least in US, it’s customers for granted.
 
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You can use AirPlay2 to send Spotify to a HomePod. Apple opened up 3rd party direct integration with a recent release. So far Pandora enabled it in their app, but Spotify has been dragging their feet.
 
3rd Party music services are unreliable with CarPlay and Siri. Because the app isn't made by Apple and doesn't have special access or abilities (like truly running in the background), if I plug my iPhone in without not recently using Spotify, then I cannot just open Spotify within CarPlay screen and expect it to work. Nothing will play. I have to actually go to the Spotify app on my phone... play ANYTHING... then Spotify will work within CarPlay. Same thing with asking Siri to play a song from Spotify under the same scenario. I need to have Spotify playing SOMETHING... before Siri will be able to play music from Spotify.
 
Hopefully Tesla gets this feature soon. That and a button for going back to the previous search results instead of having to run a whole new search would probably give me 80% of the functionality that's missing from the Spotify app in Tesla vehicles.

(Also, for people complaining that Spotify doesn't work over CarPlay unless you've recently ran it on your phone... this is just one of many things I'm talking about when I say CarPlay sucks and that having quality native apps in the car is far better.)
 
Could Spotify integrate into HomePod? Or does Apple prevent that?
They 100% can. When they announced the HomePod, Apple said that it's up to the developers of the apps to add support. So Spotify just doesn't want to do it pretty much.
 
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Been using the Apple Watch standalone Spotify (on my celluar AW) and it's buggy as hell (although it is usable so I continue with it). Hoping they fix a few of the major issues (sometimes refuses to play audio to BT earphones even though connected and music shows to be playing, among other issues).

Since Spotify is my primary music app, I wouldn't even entertain owning a HomePod if it doesn't work with it. There are PLENTY of other speaker options that do work with other phone brands and Spotify.
 
Looking forward to this update. But as others have mentioned, Spotify needs to be integrated to the HomePod (AirPlay is nice, but native integration is preferred). Please and thank you.
 
3rd Party music services are unreliable with CarPlay and Siri. Because the app isn't made by Apple and doesn't have special access or abilities (like truly running in the background), if I plug my iPhone in without not recently using Spotify, then I cannot just open Spotify within CarPlay screen and expect it to work. Nothing will play. I have to actually go to the Spotify app on my phone... play ANYTHING... then Spotify will work within CarPlay. Same thing with asking Siri to play a song from Spotify under the same scenario. I need to have Spotify playing SOMETHING... before Siri will be able to play music from Spotify.
Spotify via CarPlay works great for me. I haven't had the issues you mention.

That being said, I don't use Siri with Spotify very often. I still prefer to tap things.
 
Great. Now maybe they can fix the queue in their regular iOS app. It’s absolutely unfathomably bad and confusing.
 
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Great. Now maybe they can fix the queue in their regular iOS app. It’s absolutely unfathomably bad and confusing.
Really? Because it seems you just queue up songs and they play. It seems reasonable to me lol. Maybe I’m just so used to it that I’m immune to its frustrations!
 
They better fix their app since it's so slow and even the animation when changing songs is laggy and it's been like that for months now... i have no idea what they've done with that app but i am using spotify because it always felt smooth and fast but at this point i'm really considering moving to Apple Music even though i don't like the interface.
 
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Yea but the delay is unbearable. Makes me feel like I’m using BlueTooth from 10 years ago.
I hate this. It doesn't make sense though because I AirPlay other apps to my HomePod and it doesn't have that delay. I don't know what the heck is wrong with Spotify.
 
BMW’s native Spotify app is significantly more robust than any CarPlay music app and can already do these things without tying up your phone.
 
I hate this. It doesn't make sense though because I AirPlay other apps to my HomePod and it doesn't have that delay. I don't know what the heck is wrong with Spotify.
Are you sure it’s only with Spotify? When I AirPlay to my Denon AVR I also get the delay. Admittedly I mainly use Spotify so maybe my memory is tricked into thinking it’s everything.
 
You can use AirPlay2 to send Spotify to a HomePod. Apple opened up 3rd party direct integration with a recent release. So far Pandora enabled it in their app, but Spotify has been dragging their feet.

Yea but the delay is unbearable. Makes me feel like I’m using BlueTooth from 10 years ago
I use Apple Music. And when I airplay to HomePods, there’s absolutely no delay, but when I play directly from the HomePod and try to control the music from the Music app, there are massive delays. I try to skip a few songs in a row, but it’s too slow and only recognizes the 1st skip.
 
Really? Because it seems you just queue up songs and they play. It seems reasonable to me lol. Maybe I’m just so used to it that I’m immune to its frustrations!

The Spotify queue is very bad.

Let's say you're in the middle of listening to an album or a playlist, and you want to queue up a couple other songs to play that's over. Cool. So you hit "add to Queue" on those songs. Guess what? They're going to play NEXT. They're in a section called "Next in Queue". The album you were listening to? It's in a section AFTER Next in Queue, which is called "Next Up" -- the name of which is a lie because the "Next in Queue" stuff is going to play next. The only way to get those songs to play later on as you originally set out to do is to manually reorder things. The basic principle of a queue is that things get lined up one after another, but in Spotify anything you add to the queue effectively jumps in line ahead of everything else.

Apple Music has a simple pair of options for each thing you add to the queue, which are "play next" and "play later". They do precisely what they say. No idiotic subsections that don't make sense, just a list of what's playing next to which you can add tracks to the beginning or the end of the line.

I generally like Spotify and am happy with it, except this one thing, which is stupid and bad and whoever designed it should be drowned in a river.
 
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